In 2023, only 24.7% of the population of Barcelona and its suburbs spoke Catalan exclusively in their daily lives. This data comes from a large-scale survey conducted among residents over the age of 15. The study covered more than eight and a half thousand people and revealed a persistent trend: Catalan is gradually giving way to Spanish in Catalonia’s largest metropolis.
The share of those who grew up with Catalan as their native language was 22.3%. Even fewer—22.9%—fully identify with the language. These figures point to the ongoing decline of Catalan in daily communication, despite ongoing efforts to support and promote it.
